The Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission has submitted to Governor Phil Bredesen the names of three applicants for a vacancy on the state Court of Appeals. The judgeship was vacated by William C. Koch Jr., who resigned when he was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Successful applicants are: Andy Bennett, chief deputy attorney general in the Tennessee Attorney General's Office; Donald Capparella, an attorney with the Nashville firm of Dodson, Parker & Behm PC; and Livington lawyer Amy V. Hollars.

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On this appeal, it is alleged the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing appellant's complaint for failure to obey an order compelling discovery and for refusing to vacate that order. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter, and Amy T. McConnell, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee Department of Children's Services.

Judge: SUSANO

The trial court terminated the parental rights of K.W.C. (Mother) with respect to her minor child, W.K.S. (DOB: July 21, 1999), upon finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that grounds for terminating her parental rights existed and that termination was in the best interest of the child.
Mother appeals. We affirm the trial court's judgment terminating the parental rights of Mother, but vacate portions of the trial court's rationale for its judgment.

The defendant, James T. Barham, pled guilty to simple possession of cocaine, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of drug paraphernalia, all Class A misdemeanors, in exchange for three concurrent sentences of eleven months, twenty-nine days with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered that the
defendant serve the effective eleven month, twenty-nine day sentence on supervised probation conditioned upon him serving fifty-eight days in the county jail. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in not granting him full probation. Upon our review of the record and the
parties' briefs, we affirm the sentencing decision of the trial court.

The TBA is joining the American Bar Association's World Justice Project and the Memphis Bar in presenting a multi-disciplinary conference on the Rule of Law Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Room 1116 of the Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building, 167 N. Main St., Memphis. RSVPs can be made by contacting Sandy Beck at (901) 328-3542 or by email. Justice Janice Holder will give the keynote address at the event, which will include leaders from business, education, environment, human rights, media, health, public safety and religion.

Associate survey offers key trends

What's the current state of affairs for new associates at law firms? The American Lawyer offers highlights from its latest survey. The findings: associates aren't miserable, they don't plan on staying around more than five years, law firms aren't too upset by falling retention rates and the supply of new associates -- at least in the short term -- may not keep up with demand. Read more in the American Lawyer magazine.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled today that it lacks "subject matter jurisdiction" over an application for extraordinary appeal filed by Mary Winkler. Winkler was seeking review of an order from the McNairy County Juvenile Court involving a dependency and neglect matter. In denying the application, the appeals court also vacated an order from May 24 staying the trial court proceeding.

John L. Brownlee, the U.S. attorney in Roanoke, Va., testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that the night before securing a guilty plea from the manufacturer of the addictive painkiller OxyContin, he received a call from a Justice Department staffer urging him to slow down. Brownlee settled the case anyway and eight days later his name appeared on a list of prosecutors recommended for dismissal. While he ultimately kept his job, his testimony provided fresh evidence of the department's attempts to influence U.S. attorney's offices.

Hundreds of offenders are expected to voluntarily turn themselves in this week through the fugitive surrender program of the U.S. Marshals Service. Nashville is only the fifth city in the nation to participate and authorities hope to reduce a backlog of more than 38,000 warrants. The program offers the probability that cases will be cleared up on the spot, or reset for new court dates. The Galilee Missionary Baptist Church is ready: it looks like a makeshift criminal justice center as classrooms and offices have been turned into courtrooms and work spaces for prosecutors, lawyers and judges.

A man who copied CDs and DVDs and sold them from the trunk of his car in a Nashville parking lot was sentenced to 10 months in prison this week. When authorities apprehended the defendant they found more than 500 pirated recordings and films, blank CDs and DVDs and nearly $10,000 in cash in his car. They also found copying equipment powered by the car's battery, according to the Tennessean.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 225-199 on Tuesday to reverse the Supreme Court's decision shortening the time workers have to sue for pay discrimination. In May, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to throw out an employee's complaint saying she had to file her suit no later than 180 days after the decision setting her pay was made. The bill passed by the House allows workers to file suit up to 180 days after receiving any paycheck. The Bush administration has threatened to veto the legislation.

Several of individuals involved in the "Draft AC" movement who were unsuccessful in persuading Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton to run for Memphis city mayor are preparing to throw their support behind another candidate: Herman Morris Jr., the former head of Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division. The group is expected to announce their intentions at a press conference tomorrow, reports the Memphis Daily News.

BPR Actions

Knoxville attorney censured

On July 24, Knoxville attorney Randy K. Miller was censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility for being tardy in his representation of clients and communication with the board. The board determined that his actions violated of Rules 1.3 and 8.4(d) of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Rule 8 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.

The law license of Robert E. Nichols was temporarily suspended on July 27 pursuant to a finding by the Tennessee Supreme Court that Nichols posed a threat of irreparable harm to the public. The suspension remains in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.

Online legal research is available free to all Tennessee Bar Association members through an agreement with Fastcase, a leading online legal research firm. The new TBA member benefit is national in scope and offers TBA members unlimited usage, unlimited customer service and unlimited printing -- all at no cost.